Should Schools Become Vaccination Sites for Everyone? 9 min read
Denise Tilley receives her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 3, 2021 in Anchorage, Alaska. The Anchorage school district is a leading provider of inoculations to community members in the state.Marc Lester for Education Week Share article Copy URL
An increasing number of school district leaders are setting up creative partnerships to vaccinate teachers and staff and now some are pressing local health officials to let them expand to the community at large.
Sprawl, gentrification, and cycles of disinvestment have led to markedly different access to drug stores, supermarkets, and medical facilities across the United States, but nearly all communities still have schools, the leaders note. Centrally located and often at walkable distances for most residents, schools have the potential to serve as powerful vaccination hubs.
Teachers are getting vaccinated. Does this mean in-person school will be back everywhere? Lily Altavena, Arizona Republic
Mesa Public Schools Superintendent Andi Fourlis said she nearly wept for joy after Dr. Cara Christ called her and delivered the news: 4,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were headed to Fourlis district, the largest in the state. I told her this is better than winning a lottery ticket, she said.
This week, Mesa began hosting vaccination events with help from the Mesa Fire and Medical Department. The district will vaccinate 500 people at each event in the district s high school gymnasiums.
Maricopa County school employees have been eligible to get the vaccine for two weeks now. Teachers have posted selfies from their cars at State Farm Stadium after getting the first dose. School districts, including Mesa and the Phoenix Union High School District, are setting up district-specific locations to get teachers through the process faster.
Phoenix, Tempe high school districts partnering to vaccinate thousands of Valley teachers, staff
Phoenix, Tempe school districts hosting COVID-19 vaccination pods
The Phoenix Union and Tempe Union High School Districts are planning to provide thousands of education employees with the COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 22 and 23.
PHOENIX - The Phoenix Union and Tempe Union High School districts have announced a partnership to vaccinate thousands of educators and childcare workers across the Valley on Jan. 22 and 23, according a news release.
These COVID-19 vaccination events are open to education employees in public, private and charter schools within the Phoenix and Tempe district boundaries.